Sealing means



Oct. 23, 1923. 1,471,445

w. M. BROOKS SEALING MEANS Filed A112- 6. 1921 Patented @et 23, i923.

nritira wrNrRED ifnnnooxs, or sou'rrr'oRANGn, NEW 'Jansma` sentirne MEANS.

' Application med Auguste, .1921. serial No. 490,213.

To @ZZV-whomit may concer/n:-

Be it known that-I, l/VINFRED IVLBRooKs,

a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resii dent of South Orange, in the county Vof Essex and State of New Jersey,A have in- Y vented certain new and useful Improvements in Sealing Means,of.which the following is a specification. v 1

This" invention relates to shackle seals or 1o the like for sealing the hasps of freight car doors or the like in such a way asto indicate, upon inspection, when'tamperingfwith the seal has occurred. f In Patents Nos. 1,354,164vand71,380,038 a shackle seal of the general vcharacter employed is disclosed, the construction involving a shackle that is interlocked with itself and a tell-tale lug'for sealing the device in such a manner that when the ylug isunbent the metal ,composing itis fractured thusrevealing the attempt to'gain )access to the'contents of the carV or container asthe case maybe. Whilethe sealing member as showniin these patentsA is'eflective in the manner stated therein, unscrupulous persons have found a way of -circumventing the sealing device. It will be noted that in these patents the loop formed by the shackle is relatively large, that is: there is an absence of means for drawing the v device tight against the hasp. Unscrupulous persons.,

' have therefore at times severed the shackle, leaving the seal intact, and after rifling the 'contents of the car or package have replaced the shackle in the hasp' and have hidden the severed part of the shackle in the hasp in such way that detection would Y not take place upon a careless or casual inspection of the parts'. Y It is the main object and feature of this invention to provide means whereby the shackle and sealing member may be drawn snugly into engagement with the hasp to thereby prevent the restoration of the seal from being simulated. y

In the accompanying drawings the inven` tion is disclosed in'several concrete and preferred forms, in which- Fig. 1 is a general view showing thesealing device applied to the hasp of-a car, with the sealing member in locked position.

' Fig. 2 is a plan view v'showing the sealing device before use.

Fig. 3 is a plan viewshowing the 'free' end .q

of the shackle threaded through the seal- "the other and free end thereo plane of the guide and shackle as shownin ingmember with the latter invits open :po-

` f sition,

Fig. 4 isa plan viewgof a detached shackle that maybe used in one form of the invention.Y 1 160 Fig. 5 isV a lplan view) of a modified'form of sealing mem er..- 1 L v Fig. 6 is an ledgeview of the parts shown y in Figs. 4 and 5,'one endof the detached. shacklehaving been inserted in the detached 5,- sealing member 'andanchored 'there Fig 7 isl a plan view ofvFig. 6 showing `r the free end of the shackle slidingly inserted in the sealing member. v v

'lfindicates the shackle preferably of ribbon-like flexiblefmaterial such as sheetV metal or paper and 2 is the sealing member.v Sie the hasp or other element :to which the sealing device isfto'be attached.l In Figs.' l,- 2-an'd 3 one end of the shackle is anchored to the sealing member 2 by rivet 4 or `otherwise, while inFigs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 the shackle l2L is detached from sealingmember 2a. "In the latter case one end,l of the shackle is anchored on the sealing member byn inserting it in the guide 5a of the sealing member and by banding the shackle. as at l" 'after'insertion.

One end of the shackle bein anchored, is passed through `the hasp, is then doubled back as shown in Figs. 3 and 7 and inserted into guide 5 (Fig. 3). orba (Fig. 7) of the sealing member.V j The. free end of theshackle is slid through said guideAv until the shackle'90V and sealing member are brought snugly against the hasp, after which the sealing member is bent back upon itself' in the Fig. l. The loop formed bythe shackle is therefore not large enough to admit of Lsev-` erance without detection. v

The sealing member maybe ofY different construction. In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 an oblique guide 5 is formed by yopposed prongs 6, 7 and 8, this configuration being followed in this instance because it permits vof a more gradual bending of the shackle. V'Prongs 6 and 7 are located at one side of neck portion 9 and prong 8 at the other sidethereof.

zone andinay be notched as aty 10 to ,denitely markthe bending point and to .ade-

uately weakenV the material.V kIt will be understood that when it is attempted to un- V 'This neck portion constitutes aV weakened i member or sheet material on which one end of the shackle is anchored and having a guide open at both ends to slidingly receive lengthwise the other endl of the shackle; said sealing member being bent back upon itself inthe plane of the guidel and shackle to prevent sliding movement of the shackle.

2. A shackle seal or the like comprising: a shackle of flexible 'inateriah and a' sealing member o1c sheet material on which one end of the shackle isl anchored and having guide open at both ends to slidably receive lengthwise the other end of the shackle; said sealing,` member having a weakened zone in the plane of the guide and shackle along Which it is bent to prevent sliding movement of the shackle and to'seal it7 the material 'of said member 'being -fractured when unbending it. 1 Y

3. rllhe combination with a hasp orthe like Voit a shackle seal, adaptedto be drawn tight around the parts of the hasp,` compris,- ing: a sealing mem-ber of sheet material having a guide open at both ends to slidingly receive lengthwise a shackle, and a shackle of Flexible material having one end anchored on the Vsealingmember and its other end passed through the hasp and through the guide of the sealing member, to thereby draw the sealing Ymember and shackle into snug engagement with the hasp; said sealing memberbeing bent back upon itself in the plane of the guide and shackle to prevent sliding movement of the shackle.

e. fr shackle seal or the like comprising: a sealing member o'V sheet material having?. an intermediate neck portionV and opposed prongs adjacent said neck portion forming' a guide open yat both'ends, and a shackle or lekiblematerial having one end anchored on the sealing member and itsV other vend slidable lengthwise through the guide? said sealing member being bent Vback upon itselrn at the neck portion thereof.

i shackle seal or the like comprising: "ng member of sheet material havinfr intermediate neck portion and opposed prongs adjacent said neck portion forming' an oblique guide open at both ends, and a shackle of ileXible material having one end anchored on the sealing' member and its other end slidable lengthwisethrough the guide, said sealing member being; bent back upon 'itself at the neck portion thereof.

Signed :at New York city, in the borough of lllanhattan, county and State of New York, this 4th day or' August, 1921. 

